By Josalyn Perez
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Ming Li had just finished testifying before the Howard County Council on March 4 about the need to stop discrimination against Asian Americans when another man called in to the virtual meeting.
To Li’s dismay, the caller went on a three-minute rant in which he accused the Chinese and Koreans of “colonizing” Howard County and the United States.
“We are listening to colonist attempt to divide our land,” the man said. “This is not about being anti-Asians. It’s about stopping Asians from being colonist in the United States of America.”
No one from the council stopped the caller.
“This is a racial attack in a public hearing,” said Li, 50, the chair of the board of directors at the Howard County Chinese School in Columbia and Ellicott City. “Understanding is very important. We should not divide and fight each other. We need to unite.”
Li’s experience has become indicative of what many Asian Americans have been facing as people throughout the country blame them for the coronavirus pandemic.
Asian Americans have been physically assaulted on the street, verbally lambasted and, in the recent shootings in and around Atlanta, killed.
According to Stop AAPI Hate – a group that was launched on March 19, 2020 to track and respond to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning and child bullying against Asian Americas and Pacific Islanders in the United States – there has been 3,795 reported incidents of racism and discrimination towards Asian Americans across the U.S between March 2020 and February 2021.
That figure does not shock some Asian Americans, who have been dealing with this kind of discrimination for years.
“I’ve dealt with it all my life,” said Deanna Turija, 20, a student at Towson University. “I’ve had people call me dirty or to go back to my country. Especially after Trump calling it [the novel coronavirus] ‘the Chinese virus.’ I am not even Chinese.”
Asian Americans are 6.7% of the population in Maryland, according to the United States Census Bureau.
“I think most people in our generation are more accepting,” Turija said. “If we don’t spread awareness, people will just go back to being closed minded and being afraid to the unknown.”
Tony Lee, 17, a student at James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, said he has gotten suspicious looks while walking his dog and called “a walking virus.”
Even so, he said he is confident the discrimination will slow or end once the pandemic is a thing of the past.
“They haven’t really affected much because I passed it off as this pandemic will go away and so will these remarks,” Lee said. “In my honest opinion, I believe the racism towards Asians will decrease a significant amount once the pandemic is over. But overall, more awareness for racism for all ethnicities would be great.”
Lee’s mother, an employee at a Rockville beverage store, was a victim of a racist attack.
“A customer walked into the store and proceeded to call my mother the reason we are in the pandemic,” Lee said. “The man said, ‘Go back to your country. You don’t belong here,’ and asked for a different cashier.”
Turija said she does not understand how people can enjoy what Asian Americans make and still are racist. “You can eat our food and watch our shows, but it’s not fair to turn your back on us,” Turija said.
Joseph Akiyama-Vazquez, 19, a manager at the Sweet Frog at 11211-A New Hampshire Ave. in Silver Spring and a barista at Kung Fu Tea at 6 Grand Corner Ave. in Gaithersburg, has urged the Asian-American community to be more vocal.
“Don’t stop until the issue is solved,” Akiyama-Vazquez said. “If you’re going to continue fighting for something, fight until the end.”
Akiyama-Vazquez said that the Kung Fu Tea at 10100 Twin Rivers Road in Columbia, was reported robbed.
“I am afraid sometimes to go to work,” Akiyama-Vazquez said. “I fear for my friend’s lives. I feared for my Black friends when Black Lives Matter happened. I fear for my Latino friends when it comes to Trump. Now, I fear for my Asian friends.”
Akiyama-Vazquez and others who were interviewed said they believe Black Lives Matter has encouraged several Asian Americans to speak up.
“I really believe that without Black Lives Matter, there wouldn’t be so much of an increase in reports,” Tae Ho Hwang, 27, a member of the Korean Society of Maryland said. “It’s encouraging Asians to report these abuses.”
Li agrees.
“I do believe this Black Lives Matter movement can help my community speak up. There’s a lot we can learn from them,” Li said.
Zeena Koda, 37, who works alongside Caroline Yim and Grace Lee at the Asian American Collective, which helps Asian creators get mentorship and lean in on advocacy on causes like Asian discrimination, said social media has been a positive outlet for many people who have felt discriminated against.
“It’s been fulfilling to see people spread awareness on social media,” Koda said.
Several influencers have taken their voice to social media and used their platform to bring awareness to these discriminations.
“People need to research and listen to other people’s stories,” Koda said. “There are different generational perceptions of being Asian.”
Jenny Lee, 62, the owner of Mee Shane Restaurant on 11 Olney Sandy Spring Road in Ashton, who has been in business for 34 years, said that in the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, business was a bit slow but then it turned around and started to do well again.
Lee said it breaks her family’s’ heart to see the recent attacks against Asians, especially to think the attacks are against older helpless elders.
“As traumatic as these videos might be, it’s important to share anytime something like this happens so that people are aware,” Jerry Won, 37, said.
For Li, the incident earlier this month during the Howard County Council was a prime example of what Asian Americans have been facing. He said he was disappointed that council members did not do anything. He emailed the council about the situation, and it agreed to hold another meeting to discuss these issues.
To many others, though, it will take more than mere discussions among government bodies. Several Asian Americans ask that their communities continue to work together.
“That’s why when you watch the Black Lives Matter protest, we were all there,” said Won, who is also the host of Dear Asian Americans, a podcast that appears on Spotify. “When white folks, Latinx folks, Asian folks all show up together, that’s powerful.”
1 Comment
Enjoyed your piece. Great comments that reveal a serious societal problem. It takes courage to talk and write about race and racism in America.